1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates generally to the field of biometrics. More particularly, the invention relates to biometric systems that can be used to replace password or personal identification terminals.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
In today's electronic society, an ordinary person must carry several forms of identification. The use of passwords and personal identification numbers (PINs) associated with these forms of identification have increased dramatically over the past several years. Traditionally, passwords and PINs have been utilized to provide a person with access to private information such as, for example, a bank account. A bank account can often be accessed via an automated teller machine (ATM). Most computer systems with multiple terminals also require the use of passwords or PINs to grant a user access to sensitive information.
Meanwhile, criminal activity, especially with regard to credit cards and ATM cards, has been increasing. Any individual in possession of another's password or PIN may be able to fraudulently use it, making the security of systems which rely on these forms of identification inherently fragile.
Biometrics is the study of physical attributes for verification of identity. A biometric identifying characteristic may be, for example, a fingerprint, a retina pattern, a voice pattern, or the like. Personal identification through fingerprint analysis is a technology which has been used extensively in law enforcement. A system for recognizing fingerprints may require a user to press a finger onto a glass or an optical lens. An image sensor under the optical lens such as a charge-coupled device (CCD) array captures the fingerprint image. A custom computer system and software can analyze the digitized image and convert it to a mathematical characterization, which can then be compared against data stored in a fingerprint database.
It would be desirable to utilize biometric systems in conjunction with computer systems of multiple terminals such as automated teller machine networks. Nevertheless, the use of fingerprint identification in such systems has encountered various difficulties. For example, each fingerprint reader has optical characteristics that seldom matches that of others. Consequently, each individual must be registered at each terminal in order to gain access to it.
Up to now, the requirements for utilizing a fingerprint authorization system in conjunction with computer systems with multiple terminals has not been met.